1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to disposable miniature compacts or mini-compacts containing a test sample of a particular cosmetic, making it possible for a consumer who may be interested in purchasing this cosmetic to first try it out, and more particularly to a dispenser cartridge loaded with a stack of such mini-compacts and dispensing, on demand, one mini-compact at a time.
2. Status of Prior Art
Viscous, semi-solid and solid cosmetics, such as face creams, pressed powder, lip gloss and blusher are sold in containers appropriate to the nature of the cosmetic, such as jars, squeeze tubes and dispenser sticks. Powder, when in pressed form, is usually contained in a compact constituted by a small case having a lid hinged thereto, such as compacts of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,042,242 and 2,137,886.
A typical cosmetic section of a department store or a retail establishment that specializes in cosmetics carries on its shelves a broad range of cosmetics of various types and brands. The merchandising of cosmetics is complicated by the fact that the typical consumer is a woman who prides herself on her appearance and is not likely to purchase a cosmetic that she had not previously used without first trying it out to determine whether the product satisfies her needs in regard to color, fragrance, absorption, smoothness and other characteristics related to the nature of the cosmetic.
The retail cosmetic field is highly competitive, and many brands of a particular cosmetic, such as lip gloss, vie for a consumer's attention. In order to promote the sale of cosmetics by making it possible for a consumer to test a cosmetic to see whether it meets with her personal requirements, many cosmetic retail establishments provide the consumer with a small sample of the cosmetic. To this end, placed in the counter are open jars and other containers of various cosmetics available for purchase, from which the consumer or the sales clerk may extract a small sample which the consumer can then apply to her skin and examine.
Open cosmetic jars and other containers to which frequent access is had present a serious problem in regard to health and hygiene in an age when some consumers who are given access to these containers may be suffering from contagious diseases. It is for this reason that the use of a finger to extract a cosmetic sample from an open jar is interdicted, and the common practice is to use a sterile cotton swab as a sampling tool. But even then with open cosmetic jars being in constant use by a stream of potential purchasers, sterile conditions are not assured. Moreover, in a busy store, the need to provide on a cosmetic counter many sampling jars reduces the amount of space available for sales transactions.
Another drawback of the present sampling practice is that a prospective purchaser who is unable to make up her mind at the counter cannot take the sample home to run a test and there reach a decision as to whether to purchase the sampled cosmetic.